braking news .iran attack on Israel

 with breaking news in a major escalation

of the crisis in the Middle East Iran

has started a direct attack on Israel by

launching dozens of drones to attack

targets there they're expected to reach

Israel in the next couple of hours

Israel says its armed forces are on full

alert with combat planes in the air Iran

has said it wants revenge for a

suspected Israeli attack almost two

weeks ago on its Consulate in Damascus

when the US President Joe Biden has cut

short his weekend to turn to the White

House for briefings on the crisis well

in a moment we'll get the very latest

from Washington and our correspondent

there will Vernon first though let's go

straight to James landel who's live for

us in Jerusalem tonight and James this

is an attack that Israel has been

expecting for several days

now yeah that's right Ben ever since

that attack on the Iranian Consulate in

Syria there's been growing speculation

that Iran will have to respond in some

way there's been talk about different

types of attack but it now appears that

attack is underway military spokesman

here in Israel say that uh drones have

now been launched from Iran they are

directed towards Israel there have been

reports from Iraq of drone many drones

been seen in the sky the Israeli

spokesman said that those drones will

take some hours before they reach uh

their target here and he says that uh

he's confident that Israel's air

defenses will shoot them down uh early

today just before this attack was

formally confirmed the Prime Minister

Benjamin Netanyahu gave an address to

the nation saying that his country would

overcome all its

enemies Israeli citizens in recent years

and even more so in recent weeks Israel

has been preparing for the possibility

of a direct attack from

Iran our defense systems are deployed we

are prepared for any scenario both in

defense and attack the state of Israel

is strong the IDF is strong and the

public is

strong now as you heard there the

Israelis at the moment are just talking

about drones but the Iranian

revolutionary guards have put out a

statement saying that they are attacking

with drones and missiles too and in a

statement the uh supreme leader in Iran

Ali aai said and I quote the malicious

Zionist regime that's his name for

Israel will be punished for what he

called an attack on Iranian soil in

other words the attack on the Iranian

Consulate in Syria now the question

tonight is how effective this attack

will be and what response Israel may

make uh as a result of that a spokesman

said this evening this is a severe and

dangerous escalation Ben all right James

thank you very much indeed that's James

landel live in Jerusalem let's go to

will Vernon in Washington and will the

United States states of course is

Israel's closest Ally President Joe

Biden has promised Ironclad support in

his words for Israel uh with this attack

tonight that's right Ben President Biden

is back in the white house he earlier

cut short a weekend away in Delaware to

come back to Washington and attend uh

that urgent uh National Security Council

meeting and we've had a statement from

National Security uh Council saying Iran

has begun an Airborne attack against

Israel President Biden is being regular

updated on the situation by his National

Security team who are in constant

communication with Israeli officials and

it goes on to say that this attack is

likely to unfold over a number of hours

and unnamed us officials have been

speaking to us media uh saying that they

expect uh this drone attack to be

synchronized with missiles that could be

uh launched later on uh but as you said

President Biden and other us officials

have repeatedly said over the pre over

the last few days uh that American

support for Israeli security is Ironclad

and we know that US forces uh in the

region are on alert and are ready uh to

assist uh the Israelis uh with

protecting their territory uh but uh us

intelligence officials here reportedly

uh believe that the Iranians are

targeting multiple sites uh inside

Israel but importantly not US forces uh

in the region uh directly that would of

course uh be a dangerous escalation

that's what everyone uh here uh is Keen

to avoid any sort of tit for at

escalatory uh retaliatory conflict uh

that could ignite a wider Regional War